In his first two games at the helm of the Konkrete Kids' program, first-year head coach Coy Stampone figured his club might have experienced a case of some anxiety and jitters. Instead, Stampone watched a club that may be along further than he expected.

Unfortunately for him and his team, they dropped their first two games of the season to Pleasant Valley and Central Catholic to open the 2012-13 campaign.

"We had a lot of missed opportunities," stressed Stampone, who had a one-year stint at Pen Argyl last season after a long run in the Nazareth system. "I thought our kids shot the ball fairly well, and we had several good looks.

"But we could have done a better job at the free-throw line and had some missed layups against Pleasant Valley. If we make a few more of both of those, we're right there with them. However, I was very pleased with our defensive effort against Pleasant Valley."

For the record, the Kids suffered a 45-30 defeat to Pleasant Valley in the opener. In the game, Northampton trailed 21-13 at halftime. But Pleasant Valley - considered by many as favorite to win the Mountain Valley Conference - increased their lead to 35-20 after three quarters with a 14-point stanza and never looked back.

The Kids likely will endure some growing pains in the first couple of weeks during the season as they return only two varsity starters. They are also missing senior front court players Derek Kulp and Boston Leafwitch, who both are expected to return to the lineup soon.

"We could have been right there with them," noted Stampone. "But again we missed some key shots at key moments. Also, our inexperience showed in our first two games. We have some younger players who are getting varsity minutes for the first time. Their (Pleasant Valley) coach commented on the strong effort of our kids and how it was a tight game in spots."

The Kids had a quick turnaround when they met Central Catholic in a matinee contest Saturday. Facing one of the top-ranked team in the state and in the Lehigh Valley Conference (LVC), the Kids' inexperience was visibly present in a 71-34 rout in which Central Catholic posted 20 first-quarter points.

"We got out the gym Friday night around 9:30 and then we were right back at it Saturday morning," recalled Stampone about the Central contest. "We had a walk through and had a chance to look at them on tape.

"They (Central Catholic) are a very good club and they have players in the backcourt and up front. They played the whole length of the floor against us from the start and some of our players had trouble with the speed of their game. We have a number of players who are playing varsity for the first time, and it is a big jump in the speed of the game."

Stampone credited the play of Piefka Stonewall, who had 10 points against Pleasant Valley, and he added seven against Central Catholic. Dylan Cook led the Kids with nine points against Central.

The Kids won't jump back into action until Friday night when they travel to Whitehall and then again have a quick turnaround with an afternoon game with Colonial League favorite Salisbury the following day.

Yet, Stampone is optimistic his squad can reverse their early fate.

"We're working hard and the kids have a lot of fight," he said. "I'm really happy with our effort and pleased with many things. We'll have a few days off and have a chance to work on some things. But we know this will be a challenge for us every night and we'll be ready."

They also may be more ready than they think.